Town plans to dredge Mill Pond in Marstons Mills will remain on hold while a fisheries biologist surveys “all suitable habitat” in the pond for the bridle shiner, a species the state considers of “special concern.”

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife told the town March 13 that it’s “concerned that the proposed project may result in a ‘take’ of Bridle Shiner through direct harm to individuals or by the degradation of habitat.”

After receiving the biologist’s report, the Division’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program will determine whether the project, part of an effort to help denitrify wastewater naturally, constitutes a taking of the shiners. If it does, there are two options: a redesign of the project, or a more involved application for a special permit.

The plan is to dredge approximately 10 feet of sediment from the bottom of Mill Pond, thereby altering about 7.6 acres.